Crimes against women do not seem to be stopping in the TMC-ruled state of West Bengal. In a tragic incident, a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a former staff member at the government-run Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital (SSKM) Hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday (22nd October). The police arrested the accused, Amit Mullick, a former ward boy from Dhapa, the same day. A case has been registered by the police at the Bhawanipore police station under the provisions of the POCSO Act.
As per reports, the complaint filed by the victim’s family stated the incident occurred when the minor visited the hospital’s OPD section, accompanied by her parents, around 1 pm. When her parents were occupied with formalities at the counter to consult the doctor, the accused lured the victim and took her to a washroom at the trauma centre and molested her. When the victim’s mother could not find her, she raised an alarm, which led to a search for the victim in the hospital premises.
As per reports, the accused lured the girl away saying he is a doctor and will examin her. He took her to a private toilet attached to the trauma centre, locked the door, and sexually molested her. However, at that time, the girl received a call from an unknown number. When she picked the call she found that it was her mother looking for her, she asked her mother to call the police. Hearing that, the accused fled from the spot, and the girl was rescued.
Hospital officials checked the CCTV footage of the hospital and spotted Mullick walking with the girl. He was identified based on the video, and later arrested from his residence in Dhapa’s Mallikpara.
It has been revealed that while Mullick was wearing a staff uniform, he was not an employee. Reports suggest that the accused, currently working temporarily at Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Hospital, gained unauthorised entry into the SSKM Hospital by wearing an old ward boy uniform.
Mullick told the police that he knew the layout of SSKM Hospital very well since he had earlier worked at Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and Kolkata Police Hospital, both of which are run by SSKM, and would often visit this hospital. However, a scrutiny of the hospital records at both the hospitals revealed that there were staff members by the name of the accused in the past two years.
Moreover, the company that supplies ward boys and security guards to SSKM has not found anyone matching Mullick’s description in their HR records. The incident has raised questions about the safety standards inside public hospitals.
“Bhowanipore police station has recorded the survivor’s station has recorded the survivor’s statement. The accused says he is a former Group D staff of Sambhunath Pandit hospital. Further investigation is on,” Joint CP (Crime) Rupesh Kumar said.
The incident comes after another similar incident of sexual assault that took place on Monday (20th October) in the Howrah district. A woman doctor at a hospital in Uluberia was assaulted and threatened with sexual violence by the family members of a patient. Last year, the entire country was shocked by an incident of rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run hospital, the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
